Fixing Common Beginner Knitting Problems – Gaining Stitches
It's a common problem for many knitting beginners - you're happily knitting away, but something's not quite right - you started with 20 stitches and now you have 26! Where are these extra stitches coming from? And how can you fix the problem?
1. Splitting yarn
Some yarns - even expensive high-end yarns - are terribly 'splitty'. The plies of the yarn come untwisted on the needle as you knit, making one stitch look like two thinner ones. Look out for these thin half-stitches - are they really two stitches, or just one split in two? If this is a big problem, try a different yarn. Look for one which is more tightly and evenly spun.
2. Not dropping stitches from the left needle
When you begin learning something new, it takes a lot of concentration and practice before the movements become automatic. When you are first learning to knit, it is easy to miss moves without a lot of focus, and you might sometimes not drop a stitch from the left needle when it's been knit. then you end up knitting the same stitch twice, creating an extra one. Try using a rhyme such as 'down the hole, around the back, through the loop, and off jumps Jack!' as you make each stitch. You may feel rather silly, but soon those four movements will be etched permanently into your brain!
3. First stitch of a row looks like two stitches
When you turn your work to start a row, you need to move your working yarn to the back. If you take the yarn over the needle, it pulls the last stitch of your last row across the needle, making it look like two stitches. Of course, you start your row by knitting both those 'stitches' - you've gained one! Get into the habit of taking your yarn to the other side under the needle, and checking how that first stitch is lying!
4. Accidental yarn-overs
Do you have holes as well as extra stitches? You might be making yarn-overs by accident! This happens when the working yarn gets wrapped over the needle, and on the next row is knitted as if it were a stitch. Most commonly, this is from knitting into the wrong side of the stitch - or 'knitting purlwise'. For a knit stitch, both needles should go through the stitch in the same direction. Try inserting the right needle in the opposite direction to the left - see how you have to bring the yarn across the needle to wrap it?
If you have one or two of these and don't want to unravel rows and rows, try dropping the stitch above the hole, letting it unravel, and then use this method for fixing dropped stitches. Or see my blog for more on common knitting problems. Happy knitting!
Abigail Bailey is a craft blogger and teacher in Japan. She has been knitting and crafting for 25 years, and writes a craft blog at http://abigailscraftshowto.com.
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